


Like Real People Do

by mizutsunecafe



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Inspired by a Hozier Song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:07:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26179240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mizutsunecafe/pseuds/mizutsunecafe
Summary: As she walked off to look around and my eyes followed her, I expected the stirring in my chest, the warmth from within, to fade to nothing.That if I was not observed or influenced so those faint feelings would cease to exist, like a particle or a god.Yet as I watched her look around the room, on tiptoe to scan high shelves, the stirring only grew stronger, and as Edelgard returned to my side I felt like a flame had been kindled within me.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 3
Kudos: 37





	Like Real People Do

“Byleth?”

El’s voice was like a soft chime, drawing me out of the haze that had settled in. How could I not fall into a trance as I looked at her, head laid in my lap, gently stroking her hair, watching how her eyes twinkled with happiness...

“Yes?” I asked after a moment, cheeks flushing red— making her smile wider. “What’s the matter, El?”

“I was wondering... To hear the rumors tell it, and hearing what your Father said... not to mention what I myself saw, and you told me, I... I couldn’t help but want to ask.” She smiled still, but seemed rather hesitant to loose the full question. At the nod I gave her, though, she continued on. “For so long, you... didn’t _feel_. So I... I was curious.” Her eyes darted away, and I rested my hand on her cheek, silently prompting her once more. “What was the first thing you remember feeling?”

I let out a puff of air— so much of that first year had begun to bleed into each other, and I had to think back before I could properly reply.

I thought first— when Father died. But before that, at the Ball, when we’d danced and spoken in the Goddess Tower...

Was that before?

I shook my head, a memory floating to the surface like silt beneath a fish’s fins. A few short weeks prior to the Ball, before she was El, Edelgard had approached me in the evening. I had finished my work for the day and had planned to leave, but her voice had stopped me dead in my tracks.

“Professor? May I speak with you for a moment?”

I nodded politely, gesturing for her to come closer as I set my things back down on one of the desks.

“While I have no objection to your assignment of Dorothea to represent our class, there... is one thing I wanted to speak with you about. You may be expected to dance as well at the Ball— so I would ask if... if you would mind practicing with me.”

I’d tilted my head in confusion, and her cheeks had gone red— I remember feeling a flicker of a smile at how cute she looked like that, still so serious yet seeming so flustered...

“I learned when I was very young. Dance steps are... the sort of thing that becomes all muscle memory. So I figured starting earlier would have been better, but there’s no time like the present, either.”

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea,” I replied after a moment, giving a smile— one I feared might have seemed forced, a fear that only grew as I felt my vocal cords seem to creak or stretch, their usual monotone forced to change with the strange lightness inside. “I’d be glad for you to teach me, Edelgard.”

She seemed relieved and smiled warmly back at me before glancing around the room. “I believe there should be a phonograph somewhere... and a record... Give me a moment, I’ll go find them.”

As she walked off to look around and my eyes followed her, I expected the stirring in my chest, the warmth from within, to fade to nothing. That if I was not observed or influenced so those faint feelings would cease to exist, like a particle or a god. Yet as I watched her look around the room, on tiptoe to scan high shelves, the stirring only grew stronger, and as Edelgard returned to my side I felt like a flame had been kindled within me.

Warmth. An easy smile. Attachment.

Things my Father had told me about. The way he looked at me, the way he talked about Mother— different but so similar in the end. For so long I had felt nothing— not a chill nor warmth.

But now these things blossomed within me... the kindling had been that night I saved her. What must have been like a lukewarm trickle of water to others felt like a torrent of scalding liquid to me.

That evening, though, dancing slowly in the classroom as the sunset danced through stained glass and doorways, had been nothing short of magic. My steps were clumsy and out of practice, yet El had moved with such grace and ease, smiling warmly as she spun me around the room.

I felt like I was finally a real person. That I could finally cry and smile and laugh and be angry and scared. That I had friends. That I had someone so precious that I could fight the world for her sake.

She had paused as we’d danced— I hadn’t even realized the record had ended, that we were both short of breath, that the sun had gone in full.

I stood between the table and El, her body close to mine and her arms in a soft embrace, her eyes locked on mine— shining right through to the affection I let myself hope in hindsight was there even then.

How her gaze, for the slightest of moments, flicked to my lips, but back to my own so quickly I swore I’d imagined it. Had we both leaned in without realizing? Had it been just her or just me? I didn’t know, maybe I never will.

In that moment, I felt that vividness, that feeling of being alive, of being a real person— as if every cell of my body had been begging my mind to let our lips touch.

But she pulled back, and as I saw her cheeks flush once more despite how serious she remained, I felt frustration and disappointment— towards myself. That I’d frozen and not taken that tiny leap. I knew that there were obvious problems— perhaps that logical part of me had been the part that stopped me. But still I felt that warmth as she smiled up at me, slowly letting go of my hands.

“Th-thank you, Professor. Perhaps... perhaps we should do this again sometime? It was... fun.” She gave me that same soft laugh as she had when I’d invite her to tea, and my heart felt like it soared.

My thoughts then drifted to that night, though, long ago— and the real answer to El’s question. It felt as if a cover had been thrown back, a door smashed open— the moment I saw that axe headed towards her I felt a rush of feelings that I didn’t know how to identify— all I knew was that I couldn’t let the blade hit. Even as I felt the slightest kiss of steel on my back before Sothis had stopped time, I wouldn’t have regretted it.

I drew back from my thoughts and smiled down at her, gently brushing some hair behind her ear. She matched my expression, seeming comforted by my sudden return to self.

“When... when I protected you. That night we met.” I sighed as her hands clasped around my free hand. “I couldn’t begin to explain it. It wasn’t that I’d fail my job or that I might face repercussions... it was that I... I felt like something in me was drawn to you. Like there were... magnets inside us. And I guess in a way there were.”

I laughed softly, and though El’s brow furrowed she still grinned.

“But I... I was angry he would try such an underhanded move. I was glad I was close enough to help. I... pitied him, that he could be so desperate to do something so stupid. But... but I was terrified. I was scared that I’d never see you again.” I felt my cheeks burning as I finished speaking and El sat up. I heaved a sigh as I stammered on even so— “I know we’d only just met, but... but I just...”

Her head rested on my chest, and I thought nothing of it, just continued on— until she hugged me tightly— thankfully mindful of her strength. As much as I loved every bit of her, cracking my spine out and back into alignment was never fun. But I paused when she held me tighter, as she pressed her ear harder against my chest. I felt a smile, the slightest hint of tears.

“Your heart is pounding, Byleth.”

The reminder of that feeling of finally being real, of finally being a human being— that feeling that had become so normal— made me hug her tightly in return. I rested my head atop hers for a moment before she moved, placing her hand over my heart before sitting before me— I wondered if in times like these she thought what I did. _I should do what I should have done that night._

I kissed her— just like the real person I knew I was.

**Author's Note:**

> long time no post,,,
> 
> inspired from hozier's song, as the title and tags imply "like real people do". apparently he favors a more literal, fantastical interpretation of the lyrics, and... edeleth brainworms strong
> 
> i hope you guys liked it!


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